Typewriting machine



F H. ARMSTRONG.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE. L APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1919. RENEWED JUNE 21. I922.

1,437,21 6. Patented Nov. 28,192

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

. UNETE .s'rres ream: H. amvrsraone, or aue onmnnw YoaK, assrenon T coaona rrrnwerrae co vrranv, Inc, or GROTON, new roan, a ooaroae'rron or new roux.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

I Application filed June 7, 1919, Seria1-N0. 302,518. Renewed June 2?, 1922'. Serial N10. 571,282.

To all whom it may concern: g

Be it known that I, FRANK H. ARM- STRONG, a citizen of the United Statesfand a resident of Auburn, county of Cayuga, and

5 State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements .ularly to line-spacing mechanism therefor of the type in which the platen may be rotated relatively to the ratchet wheel for irregular line spacing.

The invention has for one of its objects the provision of simple and compact mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the platen roll and line space ratchet wheel which may be mounted between one end of the roll and the usual finger wheel without necessitating a material increase in the length of the platen shaft.

'Another object of the invention is to provide an irregular line-spacing mechanism having aminimum number of partsand so constructed that the several parts thereof may be readily and inexpensively made from sheet metal, thus reducing thecost of manufacture and also reducing the weight of the machine. I Further objects of the invention are to provide a simple, light, compact anddurable friction'clutch mechanism for connecting and: disconnecting a platen and ratchet wheel which will securely hold the platen and ratchet wheel againstrelative rotation when in looking position'and which mayi be easily and quickly operated to lock and release the ratchet wheel.

In the'drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing the improved line-spacing mechanism, the parts being shown in position forreleasing the ratchet wheel; a

Fig. 2 a transverse section on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a longitudinal sectional view showing the parts in position for locking the platen and ratchet wheel to rotate in 1111b son;

IV-IV of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 5 a perspective view of the gripping member;

in typewriting machines, and more partic-- Fig. 4. a transverse section .onthe line shaft 2 is journalled in theusual end brackets 5 formed at the opposite ends of the base plate 6 of a suitable platen carriage. The platen carriage may be of any suitable construction, such as that shown in my copending -application Serial No. 196,867, filed'October 16, 1917.

At theleft-ha-nd end of the platen roll the shaft 2 extends loosely through a sleeve 7 which extendsthrough an aperture in the adjacent end bracket 5 The ratchet or feed wheel 8, preferably; stamped from sheet metal, is rigidly secured in any suitable manner t0 ahub 9 held to sleeve 7 to rotate therewith by means of a suitable set screw 10. The ratchet wheel 8 is normally held against rotation by a detent roller 11 journalled in the free end of a resilient arm or curved spring 12, one end of which is secured to the base plate v6 of the carriage by a screw 18. Any suitable means may be employed for rotating the ratchet wheel for regular line spacing, such for example as either of the line-spacing mechanisms shown in my co-pending applications Serial 7 No. 256,684 and Serial No. 256,685, filed Oct.

3, 1918. The inner end of sleeve 7 preferably. abuts against the outer end of sleeve,

van annular, flange or collar adjacent the outer face of the end bracket. The sleeve 7 and the ratchet wheel are thus held against lateral movement. y i e A friction disk or drum 14 is rigidly held to the outer end of sleeve 7 exteriorly of the end bracket 5,, said disk or drum being preferably stamped fromsheet metal. A finger wheel 15, for rotating the platen independwill rotate with the platen roll.

ently of the line-spacing lever, is fixed to the left-hand end of the platen shaft 2, and a similar finger wheel is also preferably fixed to the oposite end of the shaft. The finger wheel 15 is preferably fixed to a sleeve 16 held to shaft 2 by a set screw 17. An auxiliary finger wheel or cupped gripper actuating disk or drum 18 is looselymounted on the platen shaft 2 intermediate the sleeves '7 and "16', to rotate in either direction relatively to the shaft a limited distance. The wheel 18 is preferably formed of sheet metal.

A gripping device or ratchet wheel looking member 19', of general disk form, is mounted between the adjacent faces of the actuating drum l8 and disk 141, said member being formed with a central circular aperture 20 through which the platen shaft 2 extends. The aperture'20 is larger in diameter than the platen shaft to permit movement of the gripping member transversely of the platen shaft at any angle to the plane of the base plate'6of the carriage.

The gripping member is stamped from sheetmetal and formedwith a pair of oppositely disposechcurVed, resilient arms 21 offset at the inner face of said member. The curved arms 21 extend in opposite directions concentrically with the edge of the disk-like grippermember, the free ends thereof being spaced apart and bent inwardly beyond the periphery of the gripper member to form a pair of spaced gripping jaws 22 adapted to engage the periphery of the disk it at spaced points. The jaws 22 are preferably bent tangentially to theperiphery of disk 14, as shown, so that one edge of the end of each jaw will grip the disk 1.4:, and the gripping jaws are preferably treated to harden the metal. 7 7

Intermediate the jaws 22 the gripper mem ber 19 is formed with a laterally bent lug 28 which extends through a cam slot 24- formed in the auxiliary finger wheel or gripper actuating drum 18. The lug .23 also extends through a slot 25 formed in a guiding and driving member or plate 26 rigidly held to the inner end of sleeve 16 and housed within'the cupped drum 18. The slot 25 extends at a right angle to the axis of the platen shaft and guides the gripping member during its locking and releasing movements, and the plate 26 and lug 23 form a driving connection between the platen shaft 2 and the gripping member 19 and its actuating wheel or drum 18, so that the gripping member and. its actuating drum The cam slot 2 1 permits a limited relative movement between the actuating drum l8 and the platen shaft2 in either direction for shifting the gripping member 19transversely of the platen shaft. wheel or drum 18' is'rotat'ed to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and lug 23 rides connect the same When I the auxiliary finger into the high part of cam slot 24, the aper' ture 20 in the gripping member 19 is concentric with the platen shaft and the jaws 22 merely touch the periphery of friction disk 14:, and the platen roll may be rotated in either direction through the medium of the finger wheel 15 while the ratchet wheel 8 is held stationary by detent roll 11. By rotating the drum 18 in the opposite direction lug 23 will be forced'into the-low part of cam slot 2a and the resilient arms 21 carrying jaws 22 will be placed under tension and jaws will thus be forced into tight frictional engagement with the periphery of disk 14:. The ratchet wheel will thus be locked to rotate with the platen so that the platen may be rotated for regular line spacing by'a suitable line spacing lever and pawl. It will be obvious that the cam slot 2 1 may be so formed that the gripping jaws 22 will be shifted entirely out of contact with the disk 14 when the lug 28 is in the high part of the slot, if desired. It will also be obvious that the form of the gripping member may be variech and that the means for shifting said member may be also varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. By employing rotatable means for actuating the ratchet locking and releasingmeans I avoid the inconvenient and awkward operation of shifting anoperating handle for controlling the ratchet release means longitudinally of the platen. By providing a transversely shiftable gripping member having spaced resiliently supported jaws it ill be seen that the grippingfjaws will adjust themselves to compensate for any slight inequalities in the'parts.

Vl hat I claim is: 1. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen. a line-spacing feed wheel v and means adapted to connect the platen and feed wheel to rotate in unison or to c isto permit'rotation of the platen relatively to v the feed wheel, said means comprising a clutch member rotatable "with the feed wheel and a member rotatable with the platen and manually shiftable bodilv transversely of the platen having a pair of integral resilient an s the ,free en ls of which are formed with jaws adapted to grip said clutch member.

2. in a type ting machine, the combination of a platen, a line-spacing feed wheel. and means adapted to connect the platen and feed wheel to rotate in unison. or to disconnect the same to permit rotation-of the platen relatively to the feed wheel, said means comprising a clutch member having a friction surface concentric with the axis of the platen rotatable with the feed wheel and a sheet metal grippingm'emher rotatable with the platen. and shiftable transversely of the platen and having a pair of integral resilient arms the free ends of which are second clutch member for shifting said bent laterally toward said friction surface to form gripping jaws.

3. In a typewritingmachine, the combinationof a rotatable platen, a line spacing feed wheel, and clutching means for connecting and disconnecting the platen and feed avlieel comprising a rotatable clutch'memher having a friction surface concentric with the axis-0f the platen, a rotatable and bodily shiftable clutch member, a pair of resiliently Supported g pping jaws carried by said wheel normally rotatable in unison with the jaw-carrying clutch member and manually rotatable in opposite directions relatively to said member for shifting the member to cause the jaws carriedthereby to grip and release the friction surface of the other clutch member.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination'with a platen and a line spacing feed wheel, of a clutch member rotatable with the feed wheel having a friction surface 6X- tending in a circle around the axis of the platen, a second clutch member rotatable with the platen, a pair of resiliently supported jaws carried by the second clutch member, a hand-operated device normally rotatablev with the second clutch member, and a connection between said device and the second clutch member for shifting said member transversely of its axis of rotation to cause the jaws togrip and release the friction surface of the first clutch member, said hand-operated device being manually rotatable in opposite directions relatively to the member. v p v 6,1 1 a typewrltmg machine, the combiv nation. ofv a platen shaft, a platen roll held to the shaft to rotate therewith, a finger wheel mounted on one end of the shaft to ro- 'tate therewith, a linespace feed wheel loosely mounted on the shaft between the finger wheel and the adjacent end of the roll,

: means forming a circular friction surface rotatable with the line space wheel between said wheel and the finger wheel, a clutch,

member rotatable with the platen roll located between the finger wheel and line space wheel and provided with resiliently supported 'jaws spaced apart around said friction surface, and hand-operable means located between the finger wheel and line space wheel and shiftable relatively to said member for bodily movingthe meinber to cause said jaws to grip and release the friction surface. I I I 7. In a typewrit-ing machine, the combinationof a platen shaft, a platen roll held to the shaft to rotate therewith, a finger wheel mounted on one end of the shaft to rotatetherewith, a line space feed wheel loosely mounted on the shaft between the finger wheel and the adjacent end of the roll, a clutch member having a circular fric tion surface rotatable with the line space wheel between said wheel and the finger wheel, a plate-like member between the finger wheel and line space wheel rotatable with the platen roll and shiftable edgewise trans- "versely of the roll, aws resiliently held to said plate-like member and spaced apart cir-' cumferentially of the gripping surface of the clutch member, and .a disk-like'element between the finger wheel and line space wheel rotatable in opposite directions about the axis of the platen roll relatively to said plate-like member and operatively connected to shift the member edgewise when rotated relatively thereto.

8. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen shaft, a platen roll held to the shaft to rotate therewith, a finger wheel fixed to one end of the platen shaft, a line spacing wheel loosely mounted on the shaft between the finger wheel and the adjacent end of the platenroll, and means located entirely exteriorly of the platen roll for connecting the line spacing wheel and platen roll to rotate in unison, said means comprising a disk rotatable with the ratchet wheel and a manually shiftable sheet metal gripping member rotatable with the platen roll and movable'transversely of the axis of rotation thereof and formed with a pair of integral resilient arms bent at their free ends to provide oppositely'inclined jaws adapted to grip the periphery of said disk at circumferentially spaced points. i

9. In a typewriting machine, the combination of platen sh aft, a platen roll held'to the shaft torotate therewith, a line space wheel loosely mounted on'the shaft, disk rotatable with said line spac'e wheel, a locking member adapted to grip the periphery of said disk rotatable with the platen roll and shiftable bodily radially of said roll plate, and a pair of gripping jaws held to said member adapted to grip the periphery of said disk. 1 p

19. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen shaft, a platen roll fixedv thereon, line space wheel loosely mounted on the shaft, a disk held to rotate with said wheel, a guiding and driving plate having a slot extending transversely of the axis of the platen shaft, a finger wheel loosely mounted on the shaft adjacent said plate and provided with a cam slot, a member movable transversely of the axis of the platen shaft, a laterally extending arm on said member extending through the cam slot in said finger wheel and the slot'in said plate, and a pair of resilient arms held to said member at one end having their free ends bent toward the periphery of said disk to form jaws fo gripping the periphery of the disk.

20. In a typewriting machine, the com-- bination of a platen shaft, a platen roll fixed on the shaft, a sheet metal line space wheel loosely mounted on the shaft, a sheet metal disk held to rotate with the line space wheel, a finger wheel fixed to the end of the shaft adjacent the line space wheel, a sheet metal auxiliary finger wheel loosely mounted on the platen shaft between said fixed finger wheel and said disk and provided with a cam slot, a sheet metal plate held to rotate with the platen shaft and formed with a slot extending radially of the axis of the shaft, and a sheet metal gripper member having an enlarged opening through which the shaft extends and also formed with a laterally bent lug extending through the slots in said plate and auxiliary finger wheel, said gripper member being formed with a pair of integral arms the free ends of which extend toward said lug and are bent toform jaws adapted to grip the periphery of said disk.

21. In a typewritin'g machine, the combination of a platen, aline space wheel, a sheet metal non-shiftable clutch member rotatable with the line space wheel and having a friction surface surrounding the axis of the platen, a sheet metal shiftable clutch member, a sheet metal driver connecting the shiftable clutch member to rotate with the platen, a sheet metal disk rotatable about the axis of the platen relatively to the shiftable clutch member and formed with a peripheral annular finger-grip flange, and means forming a direct cam connection between said disk and the shiftable clutch cooperating member for shifting said member into and out of driving relation with the non-shift ae ble member.

22. in a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen, a line space wheel, clutch members one of which is rotatable with the platen andtlie other with the line spacefivheehand a finger wheel rotatablerelatively to one of said members and provided with cam means co 7 5 acting with said member to shift the same 1 transversely offtheaxis of rotation thereof in a plane parallel with the planes of the finger Wheel and the other clutch member into and out of driving relation with the other member and lock the shiftable member in either of its shifted positions.

23. In a typewriting machine, the combination ofa platen, a line space wheel, a disk rotatable with the line space wheel, a plate-like driver rotatable with the platen, a plate-like metallic member shiftable edgewise transversely of the platen and provided with laterally offset jaws adapted to grip the periphery of said disk,'means forming a pin-and-slot driving connection between the driver and said member, a finger disk adjacent said member and driver rotatable in opposite directions about the axis of the platen relatively to the member and driver, and a direct cam connection between said disk and member for shifting the member edgewise when the disk is rotated and locking the member in its shifted position. I

24-. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen, a line space wheel, a clutch member having a friction surface rotatable with the line, space wheel, a plate-' like device rotatable with the platen and carrying jaws adapted to grip said friction surface at circumferentially spaced points, i an actuating disk rotatable relatively to the platen, and a direct cam connection between said actuating disk and the gripping device for shifting the devicetransversely of the axis of the platen to and from gripping position.

25. in a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen, a line space wheel, a disk rotatable with the line space wheel, a member rotatable with the platen having resilient arms supporting jaws adapted to grip the periphery of said disk at circumferentially spaced points, and means rotatable relatively to the platen in opposite directions about the axis of the platen for shifting the member transversely of the axis of the platen to and from gripping position.

26. In a typewriting machine, the combinationof a platen, a line space wheel, a clutch element having a gripping surface concentric with the axis of the platen rotatable with said wheel, a member rotatable with the platen, a resiliently supported jaw carried by said member, and means for shifting said member bodily at an angle to the axis of the platen to force said jaw into engagement with said surface under tension.

27. in a typewriting machine, the eombination of a platen, a line space wheel, a disk rotatable with said wheel a gripper member rotatable with the platen, a resiliently supported jaw carried by said memher, and means for moving said member transversely of the axis of rotation of the platento force said jaw into engagement with the periphery. of said disk under tenslon.

28. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a platen, a line space wheel, a;

disk rotatable with said -.wheel, a gripper member rotatable with the platen having a pair of integral resilient arms the adjacent free ends of wliiolrare bent to form jaws adapted to grip thefperiphery of said disk, and means for moving said member relatively to the platen and disk to force said jaws into engagement with the periphery of the disk under tension.

This specification signed this 16, day of May.

FRAN K H. ARMSTRONG. 

